Self-Restraint and Virtue

At the beginning of class, we started talking about the differences in between self-restraint and virtue. My first inclination was that self-restraint was a virtue. But after much deliberation, it was apparent that virtue is doing something while self-restraint is not doing something. Likewise, my high school football coach always had a saying that I still remember to this day. "We don't play not to lose, we play to win." Though both would lead to a victory, one is not doing something and the other is actively striving toward a goal. Likewise, virtue is above self-restraint.

I also thought it was interesting that no one is born virtuous. We all go through different processes in achieving virtue in certain aspects of our lives. For instance, in one area, one might start at un-restraint (or even vice) and have to work their way up to restraint and then to virtue. Also, I never realized how difficult it is to be virtuous or just. In chapter 9 of book 5 Aristotle says,

(1137a) "[People] believe that it is easy to be just, but it is not...to do these things while being in a certain condition is neither easy nor up to them."

I personally believe that it is impossible for one to achieve total virtue in one's life. Theoretically, I could see how it can be possible, but I take the stance that man is born inherently bad. Therefore, I believe there will always be areas in one's life when one can only go as far as self-restraint, because one will always have the desires of the flesh to do things that are not for the Good. In other words, I do not think that anyone can be virtuous in every single area.